2 years and 8 months!

(Chris wanted to write this month's update, but he's out of town for work so I'm giving him a pass. This time.)

This month has been full of sunshine (finally!). Chris and I had our four year wedding anniversary and celebrated with a kid-free night at Salishan. On our actual anniversary on the 18th, a Thursday, we three had burritos at Taco del Mar, a walk around a super cute neighborhood in southeast, and then ice cream at Pix. Pretty much a perfect date.

As for Olivia, she's been enjoying her social life filled with lots of other friends, both known and unknown. She really loves her cousin Isabel and they even got to have a sleep over last weekend at Granddad's. She also loves her other cousin Elena, though, they are so similar in age and therefore so similar in what aggravates each other that tears are shed in equal numbers with hugs. Chris thinks it will be a good thing to get her into a preschool when she turns three, so stay tuned for news about that.

Olivia also loves her favorite game, "go to sleep," which is pretty nice for me when I just want to relax. She brings all of her stuffed animals from her bed and piles them up around me, covers my toes with a blanket, and reads me a story. She also sings a lot, including a selection of songs from "Tangled" which is also her favorite movie. What's funny is that she sings at the top of her lungs with pure joy and gusto, "And at last I see the light!" And she mimics the way the singers get quiet or loud. Chris and I get a kick out of hearing her sing and hope she'll continue.

As for potty training, I dare say we're done! We're not using diapers during the day or night. A few weeks ago, she said she didn't want to have diapers on at night, so Chris came up with the brilliant idea of putting a potty in her room. Now, if she has to pee at night or during her nap, she'll get up, pee into her little potty, and get back into bed. Incredible!

One last thing: Olivia is very polite. I'm not sure where it comes from. When someone gives her a compliment, she'll say, "Thank you very much!" And when we were getting ready to go to our friend's house last night, she looked at my dress and said, "Mama, you look wonderful."

Love this kid.

Ecentricities and things I don't want to forget

Olivia is entering what I hope is a never ending eccentric phase. She's so interested in dress-up, imaginary creatures, and creative play.

Here she is reading her "newspaper" in her swimsuit (it's actually a publication I wrote for the Oregon Arts Commission):

Trying on Mommy's sparkly high heels with a twirly skirt:


Putting Daddy to bed with a parasol and every other toy in the room. Also note the lucite heels she's teetering on:

She calls her braids "parades" because she loves parades and thinks she looks especially beautiful with her hair done this way:

Trying to get the hang of sunglasses:

Where are we going today?

That's a question I hear approximately one million times a day.

2 years and 7 months!

(Sorry that this is a day late, we were at the beach as you can see.)


This has been quite a busy month! At the beginning of July, we went to my hometown, Philomath, Oregon for my 20-year high school reunion. While we were there, Olivia got to see her first rodeo. I thought maybe it would be too scary for her--the fast horses, the throwing of the calves to the ground, etc., but she loved it.



She took to country life pretty easy, actually. She was kind of obsessed with the tractors at the Philomath Frolic.

Chris and I both fantasize about moving to the country, living off the grid, buying goats and making cheese... We would love for Olivia to grow up with a familiarity and love of the outdoors that rural living fosters, but alas, I think we (the grown-ups) would get bored after a while. But, it makes me happy to show Olivia where I was raised and let her experience the truly simple pleasures of small town life.

Another adventure this month was our annual all-girl trip to the beach. It was super-fun with cousins Franny, Hazel, Ava & Elena, Grandma and aunties. Olivia's favorite part seemed to be blowing bubbles with Franny and playing in the pools created during low tide with Elena.


Besides our travels, Olivia's been growing and changing every day. She makes up games for us to play, for instance today, she took toys away from me and then I had to cry and she gave them back. (I didn't say they were particularly interesting games.) Her games seem to mirror things she's having trouble with in other parts of her life, like when she has to share her toys. She also takes her Little Critters and has them talk to each other and likes to organize them in little scenes, like all in bed or sitting at their tables. She's probably 75% understandable in her everyday conversation which makes all of us much less irritable.

2.7 is awesome.

2 years and 6 months!

We've had quite a month this month. The biggest activity was our trip to NYC to visit Grandma Marjie. Olivia did great on the plane, in the car, on the subways, taxis, and just generally in the city. One of the cutest things is how she surprised so many New Yorkers with her squeaky-voiced hellos.

Not that Olivia is always the charming ambassador of toddlerhood, in fact, we've taken to calling her the Littlest Dictator. Let's just say she has ideas for how she wants things done and isn't afraid to tell you. "You stand right here," she'll announce, pointing to a spot on the ground. If her loyal subject does not stand in that exact spot, that tiny speck of space she's determined is the correct spot, she'll keep pointing with her tiny finger. "No, here! Stand right here!" I have to admit that her aggravation is amusing to me, an issue she'll no doubt tell her therapist some day.

Her *ahem* assertiveness comes out as bravery in other aspects of her world, such as her love of very high slides at the playground and open spaces where she can wander. She also has not problem singing, playing music, or dancing when the feeling strikes her. (I'm going to put it out into the world that I think we have a performer on our hands.)

2.5 is very good indeed.

Bangs!

2 years and 5 months!

Now that summer has started, our daily activity options have multiplied. Olivia enjoys throwing rocks, dripping water, picking mint, swinging and sliding--all activities best explored outdoors. As her granddad says, Olivia's a very busy girl. And that's probably why this month she's had some significant bumps and bruises. In one three day period, she fell of the side of the couch, bloodied her knee at the zoo, got a black eye from falling into the side of a wood chair, and got a piece of mint lodged so far up her nose, we had to go to urgent care to have a professional remove it. (I don't think I'll ever let her forget that one...:) But, she wants--needs--to explore and these are just the bumps along the way.

Other than her many adventures, she's also taken to the wearing a tiara. She got the idea from somewhere and then started wearing a metal ring, the kind that goes around a canning jar, on her head and calling herself a princess. Here she is last weekend wearing her new $1 tiara in the St. Johns Parade:




All this princess stuff really wears a girl out:



It's hard not to indulge in all of the princess merchandise--but I think that if she's using her imagination to create what she thinks a princess looks like, then that's better than buying a Disney-approved outfit or accessory. What bothers me most is that princesses don't do anything, they don't fly or have superpowers, they just sit there and look pretty in their costumes and I don't think that's such a great message. But, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to ponder this issue in years to come.

In other news, Miss O now has a toddler bed and for the most part she's been doing well and staying put once she goes to bed for naps and for the night. I think Chris and I were prepared for a lot more resistance, but so far it's been fine.

Yeah for summer and yeah for everyone doing fine.